Congressman Cleaver Announces Panel for Town Hall Community Meeting on Domestic Surveillance
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II, will hold a community Town Hall on Thursday, January 26, 2006 at the Mohart Multipurpose Center, 3200 Wayne, Kansas City, Missouri 64109 at 7:00 p.m. The Town Hall will focus on the important issue of the President’s use of domestic surveillance.
“Keeping America safe is not an easy task but it is critical. How do we balance the needs of national security while protecting civil liberties? It is a fundamental freedom for citizens of our nation to talk and reflect on the challenges facing all of us. This Town Hall will provide constituents an opportunity to engage in a civil dialog about how we as a community feel about the President’s authorization of domestic surveillance. There is fiery rhetoric on both sides of this issue, but I hope that this meeting can help raise the level of constructive dialog so that together we can discuss the delicate balance between national security and liberty,” said Congressman Cleaver.
The forum will feature noted local Constitutional scholars:
William George Eckhardt, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of Urban Affairs Outreach, University of Missouri Kansas City-School of Law. Professor Eckhardt is a retired Colonel in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. In his thirty years of military service he served as Chief Prosecutor in the My Lai Cases. He was Legal Advisor to the United States European Command in the Gulf War. Professor Eckhardt served as Director of National Security Legal Issues and holder of the Dwight David Eisenhower Chair of National Security at the United States Army War College. Professor Eckhardt is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.
David Gottlieb, joined the University of Kansas law faculty in 1979. He served as director of the Paul E. Wilson Defender Project, 1979-1999, and as Director of Clinical Programs, 1995-1999. He teaches criminal law and criminal procedure. He is a nationally recognized expert in criminal law, particularly the law of sentencing. An outstanding teacher, he received the law school's Immel Award for Teaching Excellence in 1992. He has served as a consultant on clinical legal education in the United States and abroad, most recently in the Ukraine, Bulgaria and Turkey. Professor Gottlieb is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center.
The panel will provide a balanced discussion examining both sides of this controversial issue.
The floor will be open for members of the community to join in the conversation, ask questions and express their opinions. This Town Hall follows the President’s visit to Manhattan, Kansas this week where he briefly spoke to the issue of wiretapping. “I appreciate the President touching on his views surrounding the issue of domestic spying today at K-State, but it is not enough to make statements solely to your supporters. Part of leadership is listening to all sides. This is a serious issue, it is important we have a serious and balanced discussion," said Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II.